The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has been seized by a holy ambition for Christ’s mission, the necessity of our ministries and the unique witness of partner congregations.
God is at work among us—inviting us into an increasingly diverse community, equipping us for bold faithfulness and forming us into agents of transformation.
Our Fellowship is growing. We’re more diverse than ever in geography, generation, race and ethnicity. We are focusing our efforts to develop leaders in congregations and help churches call future generations of leaders while remaining ever-committed to a Global Mission that is increasingly unique and vital.
In CBF’s 35th year, it’s time to deepen our commitment to the beautiful kind of Baptist witness God is offering through us and for us. Now is the time for us to be a different kind of denomination. One necessary for the thriving of congregations and faithfulness to Christ’s shared mission in the world. One passionate and committed to stepping boldly into God’s holy ambition for the Church and for the healing of the world through the ministries of our congregations, field personnel, chaplains, pastoral counselors, and partners.
To quicken and expand these dramatic strides, we are launching a campaign to raise $3.5 million over the next 18 months. We have already raised $1.5 million. Our hope is to raise an additional $2 million. Investment from donors like you can allow us to take catalytic strides in the continued growth of our Fellowship.
Your Gift Transforms Lives!
As a community and school-based counselor, it has been my honor to walk alongside women, children, couples and families as they seek wholeness and transformation in their lives. It has been a sacred privilege to hold space for wonder, doubt and grief while fostering hope, resilience and healing. I have witnessed God heal generational trauma, repair marriages, restore dignity and self-worth, and redeem relationships. Partnerships with individuals and churches across the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, joining in God’s work in the world, make this transformation possible.
Alicia Lee, CBF field personnel, Skopje, North Macedonia
YOUR INVESTMENT IN OUR FUTURE WILL MAKE POSSIBLE:
Expertise and initiatives to meet the most urgent needs of congregations
Through a strategic process engaging much of the Fellowship, we were able to identify navigating change and financial strain as among the most urgent needs of churches. We require added expertise and ministries to assist congregations with these needs, as well as identify and nurture new generations of lay leaders and create new habits around collaborative decision-making among staff and lay leaders.
Cultivating God’s call for a new generation of leadership
In a time when traditional pipelines for ministry and mission personnel are shrinking and pastoral turnover is rising, CBF is investing in a better way to cultivate call. This path is rooted in relationships, local communities and long-term impact. We’re working with congregations to notice, name and nurture God’s call already present among their people, providing resources that build a culture of calling rather than a scramble to fill openings. By strengthening the culture of calling in congregations, we can guide people through their vocational development into congregational ministry, field ministry, as an endorsed chaplain or pastoral counselor.
In mission, this work is urgent as we anticipate a significant transition among field personnel in the coming decade and must raise up a new, more diverse generation of ministers and missionaries—diverse in race and ethnicity and in primary gifts. Tomorrow’s field personnel will include social workers, entrepreneurs, agricultural specialists, and health care workers whose vocations carry the gospel into communities in powerful ways. Expanded support will fund new partnerships with congregations and undergraduate institutions to reach a wider network of youth and young adults and will grow short-term service opportunities that help emerging leaders discern a call to mission—strengthening churches, stabilizing key ministry relationships (especially with young people) and ensuring God’s calling is recognized and nurtured for the long haul.
Expanding our leadership development services for clergy and lay leadership teams
CBF is building capacity as a robust learning and leadership development organization for clergy and church leadership teams. We’re seeking to expand our work in helping churches take their next faithful steps toward thriving through assessment tools and consultation. We want to expand partnerships with ministers and lay leaders to grow and expand their collaboration through training opportunities like emotional intelligence assessment and coaching.
Catalytic, entrepreneurial staff presence in growth regions for CBF
Our strategic process revealed a desire for growth in our Fellowship outside the Southeast U.S. and among different racial and ethnic groups. Experience with such expansion in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions has taught us that full time, entrepreneurial staff presence is necessary for growth. Additional funds are needed to expand our staff presence and ministries in the Midwest and the West.
Fostering genuine racial justice, reconciliation and repair
Cooperative Baptists said prior to the pandemic that their congregations desire genuine racial justice and reconciliation. To help the Fellowship live into this vision, we’ve developed resources and launched the Emmanuel McCall Racial Equity Fund. But we must do more, including the development of additional resources and repair opportunities for CBF Global, CBF state and regional organizations and local churches with and for the Black community.
Expanding advocacy efforts to equip churches and their leaders
A resounding percentage of Cooperative Baptists have affirmed that churches should be active in raising a faith perspective to the important social concerns of our day. CBF’s Advocacy is rooted in the same spirit and call that motivates our mission endeavors: to demonstrate the love of Christ to our neighbors most neglected and marginalized by the world. We must redouble our efforts to promote opportunities for impactful advocacy among our partner churches and pastors and offer strategic support to ever-increase their effectiveness.